MB: What or who inspired your novel?

VK: My stories are always driven by the characters. But I am an absolute news junkie, and current events definitely filter into my books. Right now, as any writer must be, I'm very sensitive to the tension in our society between our security and our freedoms. So the FBI hunt for abortion bomber Eric Rudolph through the mountains of North Carolina, the Freemen standoff in Montana, recent changes in our state law about domestic violence ... It all kind of percolates in my brain to create a situation that will challenge those characters to their limits.

MB: What do you like most about your novel?

VK: Wow, I have to pick one thing? That's like, "Do you have a favorite child?"

OK, how about the character of Lexie? Here's a woman who plays well with others and never, ever runs with scissors, and she's on her own and forced to take enormous risks. All her life people have underestimated her. Her parents underestimate her, the bad guys underestimate her, she underestimates herself! But Jack sees her. He gets her. He understands her strength. I found that very sexy, and I loved writing about their interaction.

MB: Who is the most heroic person you know?

VK: I believe the kernels of heroism exist inside everybody. Sometimes the simplest acts of kindness or courage or decency can bring me close to tears. A mother dealing with a sick child, a father slogging to work every day to provide for his, a child standing up for a friend on the playground … how can you say this sacrifice or that one is more heroic?

MB: Who's your romance hero: Dark, brooding bad boy or white knight in shining armor?

VK: I like knights who have been battered around a bit -- the guy who takes care of his sword and his horse because he knows they have to last, who's reluctant to fight unless the cause is compelling, but who has your back to his last drop of blood. Guys like Jack. Or my husband.

MB: Answer the question you wish an interviewer would ask.

VK: Why do I write romance?

Because as a writer my job is to tell the truth -- and I really believe in the importance of relationships, the strength of family and the power of love.